Abstract 135: The Association of Preshock Pause and Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Objective: Preshock pause (PSP_time from last chest compression [CC] to defibrillation) is believed to be an important component of CPR quality, but the relationship between PSP and survival is unknown. We sought to determine if a dedicated intervention to improve prehospital CPR quality and minimize PSPs would result in a shortened preshock interval and improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods: Data were extracted from prehospital care reports and defibrillators (E Series, ZOLL) of 2 EMS agencies (combined population-500,000) participating in a CPR quality improvement program. Consecutive non-traumatic adult OHCA of presumed cardiac etiology were included. Phase 1 (P1): 19 months of baseline data with real-time audiovisual feedback (RTAVF) disabled (9/08-3/10). Interventions: 1) Scenario-based training of ∼450 EMTs, 2) RTAVF enabled, 3) activation of “Charging During Compressions” feature, 4) EMT post-code debriefings. Phase 2 (P2):16 months immediately following implementatio...